Share this:

Manfred Eigen - Biographical

Manfred Eigen was born in Bochum
on 9 May 1927, the son of the chamber musician Ernst Eigen and
his wife Hedwig, née Feld. He received his schooling at the
Bochum humanistic Gymnasium.

In the autumn of 1945 he commenced the physics and chemistry
course at the Georg-August University in Göttingen and
obtained his doctorate in natural science in 1951. He wrote his
dissertation on the specific heat of heavy water and aqueous
electrolyte solutions under the guidance of Arnold Eucken. After
two years as an assistant lecturer at the physical chemistry
department of the university under Ewald Wicke, he transferred to
the Max-Planck Institut für physikalische Chemie, which had
moved to Göttingen under the Directorship of Karl Friedrich
Bonhoeffer. The influence of Bonhoeffer, who provided him with
magnificent working conditions at the Institut, is reflected in
his later work in the field of biophysical chemistry.

Eigen began his work on the problem of fast ionic reactions in
solution in the period 1951-1953, encouraged to do so by the
ultrasound absorption measurements carried out by his colleagues
Konrad Tamm and Walter Kurtze. During the following years he
developed a series of measuring techniques involving times down
to the order of a nanosecond. He developed many of these
techniques with Leo de Maeyer, who joined him in the autumn of
1954, and with whom he is still collaborating closely at the
Göttingen MaxPlanck-Institut. The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft appointed Eigen a
Scientific Member in 1957 and head in 1964. In 1967 he was
elected Managing Director of the Institute for a period of three
years. At the same time he was appointed to the Scientific
Council of the German Federal Republic.

Eigen's scientific development is reflected in the close on 100
papers he has published. The subject matter of these works ranges
from the thermodynamic properties of water and aqueous solutions,
and the theory of electrolytes, through thermal conductivity and
sound absorption, to fast ionic reactions.

In the years 1953-1963 followed the description of a series of
novel measuring techniques used for the study of very fast
reaction in the range from one second to one nanosecond. The gap
between the region of classical reaction kinetics and
spectroscopy was thus closed. Eigen was particularly interested
in proton reactions: together with De Maeyer he was the first to
determine the neutralization rate and found the anomalous
conduction characteristics of protons in ice crystals. The
development of the theory of relaxation of multi stage processes
was followed by studies on metal complex reactions, in which the
fast reactions of a large number of metal ions were investigated
in relation to their position in the periodic table. Around 1960
the emphasis in his work shifted towards physical-organic
chemistry. The individual steps of a series of reaction
mechanisms were elucidated, and a general theory of acid-base
catalysis was verified experimentally.

At the same time, however, his attention turned also to
biochemical questions, which now claimed his chief interest.
These questions ranged from hydrogen bridges of nucleic acids,
through the dynamics of code transfer, to enzymes and lipid
membranes. Biological control and regulation processes, and the
problem of the storage of information in the central nervous
system also occupy his attention. Practically every year he
travels together with his friend and colleague Leo de Maeyer to
Boston to discuss topics of common interest with American
neurologists, biochemists, and biophysicists.

Eigen holds the following honours and distinctions: Bodenstein
prize of the Deutsche Bunsengesellschaft, 1956; Otto-Hahn Prize
for Chemistry and Physics, 1962; Kirkwood Medal (American Chemical
Society), 1963; Harrison Howe Award (American Chemical
Society), 1965; Andrew D. White Professor at large at Cornell
University, Ithaca, N.Y., 1965; Honorary Professor at the
Technische Hochschule, Braunschweig, 1965; Foreign Honorary
Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1964; Member of the
"Leopoldina", Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher in Halle, 1964;
Member of the Göttingen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1965;
Honorary Member of the American Association of Biological
Chemists, 1966; Honorary degree of doctor of science at Harvard University,
U.S.A., 1966; Honorary degree of doctor of science at Washington
University, U.S.A., 1966; Foreign Associate of the National Academy of
Sciences, Washington, U.S.A. 1966; Honorary degree of doctor
of science, University of Chicago, U.S.A., 1966; Carus Medal of
the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher "Leopoldina", Halle,
1967; Linus Pauling Medal of the American Chemical Society,
1967.

Manfred Eigen is married to Elfriede, née Müller. They
have two children, Gerald (born 1952) and Angela (born 1960). In
his free time he is a keen amateur musician. His favorite holiday
pastime is mountaineering.

This autobiography/biography was written
at the time of the award and first
published in the book series Les
Prix Nobel.
It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.